VOILA

Mostly a European term voila is like the lightning strike. It's the epitome. The exclamation mark. Usually coming quite suddenly.

When I saw the picture of the lightning bolt splitting the saguaro cacti, I thought of a referee with arms uplifted indicating a successful field goal or extra point attempt. Then I thought of Lou Christie's classic "Lightning Striking Again".

But after those initial reflections, I was reminded of an interview I heard with heralded science fiction author Ray Bradbury. Author of hundreds of short stories and I'd guess 35 novels, Bradbury is close to 90 years of age, I believe. And his history as a writer is inspiring.

For 25 years he wrote in a journal on a daily basis. Ten pages a day. None of it was any good. Finally, he wrote a short story entitled "The Lake". It clicked. It was good. He wept. After all that effort, he had finally succeeded at something he loved. It was a voila moment.

While it seemed sudden, it wasn't. All those years of effort, all that dedication to his craft finally paid off handsomely for him. I've known quite a few authors and author wannabees. Including me. So as we continue in our pursuit, we wait for the lightning.